Portable structures, such as stages or platforms, must be capable of breaking down into relatively small units that can be loaded onto trucks or airplanes for transport. In addition, the portable structures must be capable of assembly in a short amount of time, by personnel having little or no technical skill. The above benefits must be provided while providing a platform that is capable of holding a large amount of weight and does not sway or bend during use.
Locking mechanisms for supports have typically utilized pins and/or latches. The locking mechanisms for supports known in the art suffer from the drawback that they are difficult to assemble, are subject to misalignment, causing instability in the platforms, and require a plurality of pieces, each of which must be assembled together to produce the platform.
What is needed is a portable platform structure that is easily assembled and disassembled with little or no technical skill, having a stable structure that resists deflection when bearing a load, where the structure does not suffer from the drawbacks of the prior art.